At least five Somali pirates drown with ransom

Nairobi, Jan 10 (Xinhua) At least five Somali pirates drowned with their share of ransom after their boat capsized off the coast of the Horn of Africa nation, reports Saturday said.The pirates had set free Saudi supertanker Sirius Star, which was hijacked two months ago, in exchange for a reported $3 million ransom.

The pirates’ boat with eight people onboard capsized in a storm off the coast, leading to the five deaths, the reports said.

The Saudi super-tanker was hijacked Nov 15, about 800 km off Somalia in the Indian Ocean.

Sirius Star was the largest ship hijacked by the pirates along the east African coast. The incident raised international concerns about escalating piracy off the coast of Somalia.